Trenton man pleads guilty to 2009 killing

TRENTON ó A city man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend, in 2009. Matthew Ramos plead guilty just days before his trial was set to begin in September, to a charge of aggravated manslaughter for murdering Denise Leonard and he also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault charges for attacking Leonardís boyfriend, Lee Thomas.

According to reports, although Leonard had ended her tumultuous relationship with Ramos months earlier, the accused went into a jealous rage when he learned that Leonard and Thomas were living together. In April 2009, Ramos, armed with a butcherís knife, entered the Coolidge Avenue apartment the couple shared and began attacking Leonard ó stabbing the 46-year-old woman over 15 times. Thomas, who was 29 years old at the time of the attack, escaped from the apartment and began shouting for help.

Witnesses provided police with a description of the attacker and Ramos was quickly apprehended at his home in the 100 block of Chestnut Avenue soon after the murder.

According to a Casey DeBlasio, a spokesperson for the Mercer County Prosecutorís Office, in addition to the 30 year term Ramos was also sentenced to 10 years, to run concurrently, for attacking Thomas. He will be required to serve 85 percent, or 25 and a half years, before he will be eligible for parole.